S&W M&P 10mm Pistols: Prevalence of the Magazine Drop Malfunction

Screenshot from a video (linked below) which shows the magazine dropping free without the magazine release being pressed.

I have documented my experience with the S&W M&P 10mm pistol (and the accompanying customer service experience) in the thread here and in an open letter to S&W’s CEO here. To summarize:

1. My new S&W M&P 10mm 4.6" pistol would drop the magazine under recoil, without the magazine release being touched. You can see several videos of this happening here.
2. This malfunction happened with three different shooters, including myself, all of whom are firearms instructors and two of whom are range officers.
3. The malfuction presented most consistently, but not exclusively, with one-handed shooting.
4. This malfunction happened with three different types of ammunition: 180 grain S&B jacketed hollow point, Underwood 200 grain hardcast, and Underwood 220 grain hardcast. (Some people mistakenly believe those Underwood loads are +P and therefore not appropriate for this pistol. This is false.)
5. This malfunction happened with two different M&P 10mm pistols (of identical model) and ten different magazines.
6. I interacted with several different people at S&W from December 2021 through July. Some of them were fantastic and sincerely doing their best to help. Others…not so much.
7. Ultimately, S&W refunded me for the purchase price of the pistol and the two transfer fees I had paid. I am grateful for that. I was not reimbursed for all of the 10mm ammunition I had expended in the process of testing the two pistols and ten magazines — that’s unfortunate, but I was not really expecting such reimbursement, either, so I cannot say I was disappointed.

So, how prevalent is this magazine-dropping problem? From the limited research (i.e., mostly Googling) I have been able to do, this issue seems prevalent enough that S&W ought to take the problem seriously and address it publicly. Including my own experiences with two (edit: as of Jan 2025, *three*) different pistols, I have accumulated 31 reports of magazines dropping from S&W M&P 10mm pistols (without activation of the magazine release). Links to each report can be found below:

1. My first M&P 10mm (video documentation)
2. My second M&P 10mm (video documentation)
3. Reddit user Hoff93
4. Reddit user Jouaram_The_Fat_Mule
5. Outdoor Traders user Ringorock
6. LWRoad Patreon member David W
7. YouTube user dennis1979gm
8. YouTube user Dafawty9th State
9. YouTube user The Right to Arm Bears (video documentation)
10. YouTube user Brady Laehr
11. YouTube user dmccolt23
12. YouTube user Thomas Anonymous
13. YouTube user fluffy10mmjeepguy
14. Reddit user Fair_Cycle7241
15. Reddit user UncleEvilDave
16. Smith & Wesson forum user larbike
17. YouTube user Briarjumper12
18. CheaperThanDirt user Martin
19. Smith & Wesson forum user Belt Fed 54
20. Smith & Wesson forum user southernpatriot
21. Smith & Wesson forum user mrshyvley
22. YouTube user owen black
23. Reddit user Peters012
24. YouTube user Marginally Interesting (video documentation)
25. YouTube user Eoghan O’Seaghin
26. Smith and Wesson forum user lnf150 (private message — if necessary, I can ask user’s permission to share)
27. Medium user Language Source — see comment section of this post.
28. Yours truly with a *third* M&P 10mm pistol (video documentation)
29. YouTube user owenblack6646
30. YouTube user SamBrownMusic
31. YouTube user keithtate1241

I will update this list if I come across any additional reports. If you have experienced this problem, I hope you will reply below to let me know. I can also be reached on Twitter.